The Sicatoka

Well look what's being offered over at FightingSioux.com. http://www.fightingsioux.com/sports/mhocke...RELEASE_ID=1818

The Bison are yet to play a game in any activity while classified "Division I." Meanwhile UND has played at least seven Division I games as evidenced by .....

Do I believe everything I've heard? No. But I do believe my source: a TeamMaker who was at the meeting.

You missed two. IF Boston University makes it, they will play in Worcester. IF Providence College makes it, they will play in Providence. (Hosts play at their sites if they make it.)

JBB: Dare I guess that you refer to Scott's posting? 1. Check the time stamp on that. Long before the admin "got tough." 2. Mr. Babich used to wear a cap that said 'SU. That's not a misspelling and I don't see any other. I've seen NDSU's own student newspaper refers to the school as SU. 3. Choose an ad campaign that doesn't make it so easy next time.* I do have to appreciate Mr. Taylor's method for avoiding a decision. He may have a career in politics. *I was told that at TeamMakers last fall a speaker called it one of the three worst disasters in ND history, ranking with the Fargo tornado of '52 and the GF flood of '97.

JBB: DII hockey was shut down within the last decade. Why? The "play up in one sport" rule caused most of the DIIs to go up. That's why Bemidji State moved up. For the record, DI hockey is primarily DI schools: 35 DIs (13 are IAs, 16 are IAAs, 6 are IAAAs), 20 DIIs, 5 DIIIs. You'll see a Division I UND long before you'll see NCAA DII hockey again.

tony, I (gulp) agree with you. Well, up to your last sentence. I'm not as sure as you that they'd do the full evaluation. They have larger and smaller market reports and data points immediately available to compare to. However you still struck upon the crux of the issue: Can it be afforded? Money solves the travel/conferences issues. (Money solves a lot of issues, but we knew that.) You're right, many are waiting to see if UND's "afford it" issues solve themselves and how other fiscal issues regarding DI play out around the region. The new wildcard of the NCAA showing a leaning for "all sports at one level" schools/conferences has to weigh into UND's thoughts. UND might have to make the move just to keep (I'll say it) the hockey cash-cow safe. Does anyone know about the budgets at SCSU, Mankato, Duluth, or Omaha? Are their hockey programs "revenue positive" like at UND? If so, they may have to evaluate the same circumstances.

I agree, and would like to expand. 1. The shot was perfect. (I still swear I saw it off the glass but there it was in the net.) Josh was fundamentally sound on that one. He was out and had the angle. The shooter found the pipe in the far corner. 2. Leinweber? I had an Albany 2001 flashback. He got beat to the outside and deep, again. I had "that feeling" when I saw it forming up. Chris, hit somebody, and be malicious about it please. Outside of that, where were the guys covering the trailers? 3. I hate to say it, but from my angle, the ice was still damp where Greene had his problem. Still, he should have gone up the boards and out of the zone with it when he had the chance a second before. 4. Nick's skates just came out from under him. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. 5. The team was pressing. That happens. Somebody said that you need a goalie to make three big saves per game. I'd argue that Josh made two of them. Look at some of the scrums in front where Tech didn't score. It was Josh that stopped those. The one that he couldn't stop that was really needed, and ended up being the back-breaker, was the miscue by Greene. I can't blame Josh for that. He was hung out. I saw nothing that was not fixable. Used properly, this big mouthful of "losing stinks" just may be a good reminder of how one would choose to not spend the summer.

The NCAA has already moved to fix the hockey auto-bid issue. http://www.uscollegehockey.com/news/2003/0...2/06_006096.php Did you hear that the MAAC conference has had three members (St. John's, Canisius, Fairfield) drop IAA football since the end of the season? Financial issues in each case. Luckily they still have six members remaining (in FB).

It looks like the problem has been noted and dealt with already. "Cabinet Recommends Reprieve For WCHA, CHA" http://www.uscollegehockey.com/news/2003/0...2/06_006096.php

League, wide ice (>90'), North American (90' or less), unknown. HEA: 2, 7, 0 ECAC: 0, 12, 0 MAAC: 0, 10, 1 CCHA: 2, 10, 0 WCHA: 6, 4, 0 CHA: 0, 5, 1 Total: 10, 48, 2 I know what the NCAA says (wide, meaning 100' Olympic, or as close as possible), but those glaciers, like at Mariucci, are the exception in the college game.

Denver is a DI-AAA (no football). Goldie and Bucky are DI-A (85 scholarships football). CC is DIII. The rest are DII. USCHO has fixed their story. (That's the danger of copying and not linking.) Can you believe INCH got it right?

You guys sure seem worried about bragging up your "DIAA" recruiting class against UNDs. Shouldn't you guys be off comparing it to say .... Iona's or some other IAA?

This new development adds an interesting twist. http://siouxsports.com/forums/index.php?ac...ct=ST&f=1&t=661

Ed Belfour. Hey, he only played one season. He must have three remaining, right? Right?

Somehow Jim Kleinsasser and Lamar Gordon were found by the pros, and they were in North Dakota!

At the risk of repeating myself ....

That is not accurate. I had made a statement about that earlier (based on my misinterpretation of some statements from NDSU and SDSU) but, after contacting the NCAA, I determined that a wellness center is not a formal requirement. Sorry for creating the confusion. Is this architect just for the Hyslop to Wellness renovations or will they be looking at renovating old Engelstad Arena and the new athletics offices/training building as well?

I didn't hear the story, but I'm pretty sure it was the same group on a different day.

Psssst, WYO .... that's a link up there. UND 92,96 wins. (No tiebreakers required.)

The answer key! The correct answer would be: 21, 7, 10.

23, 9, 9.

I'll agree with 'bisonguy,' sort of. From my perspective, the biggest part of NDSU's recent woes has been player development. The next guy, ready to step in, hasn't been there lately when the injuries hit. Of course, who's responsible for player development? Coaching. When do you judge the 2003 recruiting class for anyone at any sport? After five seasons (assumes a red-shirt year). Anything before that is incomplete speculation. This will be Lennon's first "all his own recruits" season. Can't disagree with that. That group of seniors that won a National Championship for UND, that was Roger Thomas' recruiting class. Ah, but who was the recruiting coordinator for that group under Thomas? Hint: He's now the head coach at North Dakota.

Could you imagine a Bison locker room where the only National Championship ring in it would be on the hand of the head coach who had won it as head coach of UND (and a UND alumnus no less)? I think the earth might just flop right off of its axis.

To make UND92,96's entry "official" it should say: 21, 8, 8. If UND92,96 gets it all correctly I'm calling for a blue ribbon panel to look into it. Before you ask where my guess is, I'm still working on it.